Causes of Eating Disorders and the Media

  Featuring the generation of online diets, social media and Victoria’s Secret angels,  many women and girls feel the need to be perfect to be accepted by society and others. Today if you ask most people the ideal image of beauty, consists of a tall, thin and beautiful women which some girls will stop at nothing to obtain, and I mean nothing.

       Out of any mental Illness Anorexia Nervosa has the highest death rate. Anorexia is an eating disorder when the male or female person refuses to eat in order to lose weight. Over four percent of all those that suffer die from it. Disorders like this are common including Bulimia, another disorder when the person throws up all food eaten within 20 minutes to lose all calories obtained. Yet what causes these disorders? The answer may lie in the media.

         To advertise products both women and men are photoshopped and sexualized to sell products. Yet this may be an easy way to make a buck it can be life threatening. Those who are not the target audience may look at these images and expect themselves to look perfect like the models. Even men may expect women to look like that as well or vise versa.

      Hailee Miller, a freshman at Milford high school talks about one of her best friends in her hometown struggled with an eating disorder. ¨It was a very scary experience for she and I, especially because no matter how much I tried to help her I knew I could not do anything to stop her.¨  This topic hits home to a lot of people, it takes a lot of inner strength to get over a disorder that only ⅓ of all people get help for. Sandra Terry, another freshman at MHS says ¨It is really sad how people, but mostly girls have such a pressure to be perfect, if you are not perfect you will not fit in with society.¨

    As well as the media there are other causes for these weight- related diseases, according to eatingdisorderhope.com ¨Constantly reinforcing thin people as ideal stereotype Professions and careers that promote being thin and weight loss, such as ballet and modeling. Family and childhood traumas: childhood sexual abuse, severe trauma. Peer pressure among friends and co-workers to be thin or be sexy.¨ These are all current ideations that push people into a disorder.

    What can you do about this growing crisis? Those who suffer from eating disorders are also most likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and substance abuse making this very hard to treat. If you know of anyone who is struggling with an eating disorder make sure you call 1-800-931-2237 for a free and confidential consultation. Also do not support the sexualizing of men and women to sell products because after all we are all the same inside and we want to be accepted for who we are, and currently that is not happening.

         “I see humans but no humanity” -John Donohue